Giving Fate A Hand
by Heather-Lauren
Summary: Dumbledore must push three students together to save the wizarding world, but not the three you may be thinking of…
1. Wizarding Life 101

Title: Giving Fate a Hand

Author: Heather-Lauren

Pairings: Hermione/Draco/Blaise

Genre: Comedy/Romance

Rating: MA

Disclaimer: I don't own anything sadly. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, and Dumbledore's quote at the end of the first chapter is from Ever After.

Beta: Done by the wonderful Alexisrose

Summary: Dumbledore must push three students together to save the wizarding world, but not the three you may be thinking of…

Chapter 1: Wizarding Life 101

Hermione sat at her desk with everything organized in front of her. She pushed her frizzy hair behind her ears so she could lean down to get something from her bag on the floor. It was a new school year, and she was excited to start all of her new classes.

Suddenly, while she was lost in thought, someone walked into her, knocking her head into her desk. She looked up quickly to see Draco Malfoy walking away with a group of Slytherins.

"Oops, thought your hair was a bush. Fitting for a Mudblood, I suppose," Draco sneered. The group of the Slytherins around him cackled as if that was the funniest thing they had ever heard.

All but one, Hermione noticed. The dark-skinned Slytherin simply turned around and took a seat. Before Hermione could think more about it, her head started throbbing. She gently rubbed the spot that had been slammed against the wood of her desk.

"So why do we even have to take this class, anyway? From what I've heard it sounds pointless to me," Ron said as he slid into the desk next to Hermione. His pants had stains from breakfast on them, and his hair was greasy as if he hadn't had a bath recently. Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust of his lack of hygiene.

"Really Ron, if it was pointless I don't think Professor Dumbledore would make it mandatory to take," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Harry smiled at the typical Hermione-like response as he took a seat on the other side of her.

"Do you know who is teaching it?" Harry asked Hermione as he scratched his head messing with his unruly black hair. She shrugged and dated the piece of parchment she had taken out to use for notes.

"There sure are a lot of people here," said Ron, stating the obvious. The room looked like a regular classroom times four with desks packed in.

"Well it's suppose to be everyone in our year," Hermione replied.

Then, the side door opened and out came Professor McGonagall, who silently walked up to the front of the room. She looked around, folded her hands, and then stepped up to the board. She wrote "Wizarding Life Class". As soon as those words were written on the board, everybody in the class started talking at once.

"Silence!" Professor McGonagall commanded. "Thank you. This is a real life scenario class. It will prepare you for struggles many wizards and witches go through. This class was created when many alumni came back to me and complained that school hadn't properly prepared them for life."

All students in the room looked shocked. It was nothing like they had ever taken before. Hermione's hand flew across the paper as she wrote down every word the Professor was saying.

"There will be six different situations that you will experience," Professor McGonagall continued. "Every Sunday night you will be notified of the following week's situation. The first one will be marriage."

The room was engulfed with whispers of shock. Professor McGonagall sighed in frustration as many students yelled out cries of protest.

"Remember that this is simply a scenario," McGonagall said. "As for whom you will be marrying, the couples have already been selected. Please come up to the desk to pick up your first assignment as I call your name."

Hermione, Ron, and Harry looked at each other with wide eyes. They then looked around the room as students' names were called.

"Harry Potter and Parvati Patil."

Harry stood up with an apathetic look on his face and slowly walked up to the podium. Professor McGongall handed both of them a scroll. The two gave each other an uncomfortable look and then walked back to their seat.

Hermione felt more uncomfortable now with Harry taken. She felt someone touch her hand, and looked over to see Ron trying to silently comfort her.

"Ron Weasley and Pansy Parkinson."

Ron's hand shot off of Hermione's as if a snake had bitten him. He looked around till he spotted Pansy, who didn't look pleased either. They both stepped forward as if they were walking to their execution. Ron went back to his seat and looked like he was going to be sick.

Names continued to be called; Hermione looked around the room and noticed most of the people around her already had scrolls. She had lost count of who was left.

"I would like anyone who doesn't have a pairing to come up."

Hermione quickly got up and walked to the front before anyone else. She felt confused when she noticed no one was up there.

"Okay, we have an odd number of students, so I want the three of you to work together," Professor McGonagall said, holding out three scrolls in her hand. Hermione's eyes grew at the word three and slowly turned around to see who was behind her.

Standing behind her, both over six feet, were none other than Draco Malfoy and the dark-skinned wizard she had seen at the beginning of class. She couldn't remember his name, but noticed written in cursive on his scroll was Blaise Zabini. Draco glared at the sight of Hermione and the three walked back to their seats.

"Oh no," Hermione whispered as she took her seat and gave herself a good hard pinch to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"You have exactly one week to plan your wedding," Professor McGongall said to the students. "Oh, and please do not forget that this class is for a grade. You will be graded on your participation and reactions to each scenario. Good luck."

Professor McGonagall then left the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other in shock, not even sure what to say.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to be a long year.

On the other side of the castle, Professor McGonagall knocked on the door of the Headmaster's Office.

"Come in," Professor Dumbledore said to her. She opened the door and walked in with the look of worry on her face. "So I take it you told them?"

"Yes, and I'm still not sure this is a good idea," she said.

"We must get the three of them to care for each other. It is the only way we will win the war," the gray-haired wizard said.

"Yes, but can't we just hope that fate will help them care for each other?" Professor McGonagall replied.

"You cannot leave everything to fate. She's got a lot to do. Sometimes you must give her a hand," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously.


	2. Wedding Plans

Chapter 2: Wedding Plans

"Great. Just bloody great," Draco yelled out while slamming his bag down on the silky green Slytherin common room couch.

"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?" Blaise said as he gracefully took a seat next to him.

"Just wait until my father hears about this! You know what? I think I'll write him just now," the bleach-blonde wizard exclaimed. He pulled a quill and some parchment out of his bag. Blaise just sat in silence, knowing full well that it was best to just leave Draco alone until he got his way.

After he finished his letter, Draco stormed out of the room without even waving goodbye. Blaise looked at his bag and then decided to wait until Draco got back to read the wedding planning scroll from class.

***

No sooner had Hermione walked into the Gryffindor common room, than a sticky-handed redhead pulled her to the side. 

"Ron what on earth is wrong?" Hermione cried out.

"You have to help me plan my wedding!" he begged, giving her a puppy-dog look.

"What? That is ridiculous. I'm not your future bride," she said and started to walk away.

"Please… please… please?" Ron begged, following her to the bottom of the girls' dorm stairs. She turned around and shook her head no. Childishly he sighed and folded his arms. She rolled her eyes and walked up the winding stairs into her dorm room. Crookshanks was sitting on her bed and looked pleased to see her. Hermione walked over and collapsed on her bed next to the cat.

"Oh Crookshanks, what am I going to do?" she sighed. The fluffy cat gave her a loving head butt in response. She closed her eyes for a few minutes and simply listened to the rhythm of the cat's purring.

After she felt a bit more relaxed, Hermione sat up and walked over to her desk. She pulled the scroll out of her bad and placed it before her.

Draco was back in the Slytherin common room pacing in front of the window. Blaise had stretched out on the couch and was taking a nap.

Suddenly, there was a tap at the window, and Draco raced over to it. The noise woke up Blaise and he sat up to see what was going on. Draco hit the latch to open the window and an elegant white owl swooped into the room. The owl handed him a piece of parchment and then landed on the arm of the couch.

Anxiously, Draco opened the letter with the Malfoy crest punched in the front of it. The letter read:

Draco,

I do not have time for your complaining. Complete the class and make an O. You should have your mind on more important matters. I will contact you when he needs your service.

LM

Draco growled and threw the letter at Blaise, who picked it up and read it quickly.

"Well, should we read the scroll from class now?" Blaise asked while feeding the Malfoy owl and sending it on its way. Draco grunted a yes, and they both took a seat on the couch. Blaise took the scroll out of his bag and began to read.

Hermione finally opened the scroll and her eyes started to read the beautiful cursive print:

Congratulations,

We would like to start by congratulating you on your upcoming wedding. I'm honored to be part of your happy day. However, there are a few things that we need you to prepare for the event.

First, you must learn the wedding binding spell. It is in your textbook _Every Spell an Adult Wizard Should Know_ by Henrietta Everson. At the ceremony you will be given a 'special' wand to use so the spell will not be permanent.

Second, you will be required to dress for the occasion, which means wizarding wedding attire. Witches, Madam Malkin will be on the campus Tuesday from 6-10pm to help you with your needs. Wizards, she will be here on Wednesday from 7-10 to help you with yours. All clothes will be rented and therefore free of charge if returned in good condition.

You will also need to pick a location on campus and decorate it accordingly. Please submit your location by Thursday, so a schedule of weddings can be created. Your textbook includes decorating information. Have fun with it!

Finally, you will be required to recite vows at the ceremony. These are to be prepared beforehand. I'm am quite aware that you may not have positive feelings toward your partner(s) at this time, so write what you would say to your possible future partner.

Your wedding ceremony will be held on Sunday, and you will be notified of the time the day before. I look forward to the happy day. Please be prepared!

Sincerely,

Your officiate,

Professor McGonagall

Hermione sucked in a deep breath. She had less than a week to plan a wedding. She pulled her planner out of her bag and marked all the upcoming events. Tomorrow she would have to pick a wedding dress.

"So we have less than a week to plan a wedding to that Mudblood." Draco hung his head in his hands. Blaise reached out and rubbed his back like he always had for his longtime childhood friend.

"It's just a class," Blaise said soothingly.

Draco looked at him, confused. "How can you be so calm?"

Blaise stopped the back rub he was giving and took the scroll out of Draco's hand. "I don't think she's that bad."

"What! She is a know-it-all Mudblood filth. It doesn't get much worse," Draco said.

"I can think of worse. Plus, you heard your father, you need to make an O," Blaise said, reading the scroll a second time and then looking up again. "So where should be have this wedding?"

"In a puddle of mud should be fitting." Draco laughed and folded his arms.

"Maybe we should talk to her about all of this," Blaise said, ignoring his reply. He wrote a quick note and left the room to go to the owlery.

The next morning Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table eating a small breakfast of scrambled eggs and dry toast. She picked at her food as she listened to Harry and Ron ramble on about quidditch. She heard the squeaks of the owls as they brought in the morning mail. A small piece of paper dropped into her lap. She quickly opened it and read it:

Granger,

Meet us in the library after breakfast.

BZ and DM

She looked surprised at the letter and then slipped it into her pocket. She excused herself from the table and headed to the library. In the hallway she let her mind wonder at what the boys wanted to talk about. She was so lost in thought that she was surprised to find herself already in front of the entrance to the library.

Hermione pushed open the old wooden doors to see a very empty library. She walked around for a bit until she finally saw the two wizards sitting at a table in a back corner. She took a seat across from them and they looked up at her.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air until Draco finally said, "Look, I don't want to do this." Hermione snorted at the comment.

"I think what Draco means is that none of us want to be here, but this is a class and we all want to make a good grade. I don't think we have been introduced, I'm Blaise Zabini," Blaise said, trying to make the situation a little less unpleasant.

"It's nice to meet you, Blaise. Well, it seems the first thing we need to worry about is our clothing, but I feel like we can take care of that on our own. The next is the location and the decorations. Do you two have any suggestions?" Hermione asked. This time it was Draco who snorted.

"You know what, Mud-Granger? I don't really care. How about you just pick that stuff out and send it in to McGonagall," Draco growled.

"Fine, I'll pick the place, but you two better learn some decorating charms unless you want to do poorly in the class," Hermione said, standing up. She quickly turned and walked out of the library so she wouldn't be late to her first class.

'Where should the ceremony take place?' She let the thought marinate in her mind until she finally came up with an idea. A mischievous smile spread across her face. She had the perfect plan. 


	3. The Wedding

Finally got a beta! Thanks to the wonderful Curse Weaver! Enjoy!

Chapter 3: The Wedding

Hermione walked into the Gryffindor dorm to see her two best friends sitting by the fire playing a game of wizard chess. She walked over and pulled up a seat.

"Hey Hermione," Harry said, looking over and smiling.

"Yeah hey," Ron said not even looking up.

"So I met with them this morning," Hermione said, slumping in her chair and folding her arms.

"Yeah, I can't believe you got stuck with Malfoy out of all people," Harry said frowning.

"As long as I don't have too much time with them I should be okay," Hermione said giving a sad smile. "How has it been going with Parvati and Parkinson?"

"Oh, fine I guess. She knows what she wants in a wedding so it has been really easy for me. I think she is one of those girls who have been planning their wedding since they were little," Harry said while moving a chess piece.

"Pansy isn't so bad, I guess," Ron said still not looking up.

"Really?" Hermione looked surprised, "Ok, well I'm going to go work on my homework. See you later."

Tuesday came faster than Hermione had expected. She had no interest in picking out a wedding dress and was actually dreading a day most women are excited for. She walked over to the part of the castle that she had been told that Madam Malkin was in.

There was a podium sitting next a closed door. An older woman was standing behind it holding a quill and looking at a paper sitting on the podium. She immediately looked up when Hermione walked over to her.

"Name?" the woman said looking tired. Hermione could only imagine how many teenage girls she had had to fit that day.

"Hermione Granger," she said politely. The old woman took her finger and let her long fingernail trail down the page. The nail stopped and the older woman wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"There must be a misprint; I see two male names next to yours," she said, still looking at the book oddly.

"No misprint. I'm paired with both Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy." Hermione was surprised how their names felt on her tongue.

"Hmmm, interesting," Madame Malkin said while making a little check in the book, "well come on, no time to waste. What style of dresses do you like?"

"Well I don't really know. I've never really thought about it," Hermione replied honestly.

"Ah, how interesting," the older woman said back. Hermione frowned when she realizing the older woman was just politely informing her that it was weird. This really was a good way to sum up the whole situation, weird.

"Urgghhhhhhhh," Draco said and gritted his teeth as Blaise practically dragged him to the side of the castle that the men's dress robes were being held.

"Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy," Blaise said to the man behind a table set up in front of an old wooden door. The man nodded once and led them through the door. He started to take them to separate dressing rooms when Blaise stopped the man.

"No, we are getting dressed for the same wedding so we should have a room together," Blaise said before he entered the dressing room.

"Ahh, I see. No problem," the man said very politely, and opened another door. The boys walked in. The room was a typical dressing room with a small platform, a mirror, and a few chairs. The man ushered Blaise up on the platform first, took a few measurements, and then did the same for Draco.

"So what are the colours for the wedding? You will want your robes to coordinate," the man remarked.

Blaise looked at Draco stumped. "Did Hermione say anything about colours?"

Draco thought for a second and then an evil grin formed on his face. "You know what, she said the decorations were up to us."

"Well what do you think she would like?" Blaise asked.

"I have just the colours in mind," Draco said and wrote the colours down on the forms of the tailors' clipboard.

"Very good," the man said walking out of the dressing room, "your robes will appear in your rooms the morning of the wedding."

As soon as the door closed, Blaise walked over to Draco and slammed him into the wall. Draco looked shocked at the darker man's actions.

"What the fuck was that for?" Draco said trying to push off Blaise, but he held firm.

"I want you to listen and I want you to listen good," Blaise said levelling his eyes with the blond wizard, "ever since we started this project all I have heard is you bitching about Hermione. Do you not realizing you are marrying me too?"

Draco stopped and looked lost in thought for a few minutes. Blaise didn't let go, waiting for the realization to hit. Then, he started feeling something hard growing against his leg. Draco looked back at him with wide eyes. Blaise let go of his arm and smashed his mouth down on Draco's. The boys let their tongues fight for dominance, both hungry with desire. They both drew back trying to catch their breath.

"Come on, we need to work on decoration spells," Blaise said breaking the silence.

All Draco could do was nod. Blaise snickered a little thinking this was probably the first time Draco had ever been speechless.

The Wedding day, or hell day which it had come to be called in her thoughts, came a lot faster than Hermione had expected. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. Sure enough, laying on chair next to her bed was the dress.

Hermione walked over to it and just starred, almost scared to touch it. As if touching it would make in all real.

"Oooo," a voice cooed behind her. She turned around to see Ginny admiring the dress. "Please Hermione, let me help you get ready. You are the closest thing I've ever had to a sister."

"Ginny it's just a project for school," Hermione said frowning that she had to remind her that it wasn't real.

"I don't care. Please?" Ginny asked again, and jumped with glee when the brunette finally nodded her head.

"We better get going. We need to have the place fixed up before anyone gets there," Blaise said walking into Draco's room. Once in the room he stopped looking at the blond all dressed up. His pants suddenly felt a little tighter.

Draco gathered his things and they started their walk to the location.

"So where are we going?" Draco asked.

"I don't think I've been there before. It's on the grounds. Hermione drew us a map," Blaise said pulling a piece of parchment out of his pants pocket. They followed the route and ended in a clearing with a few large boulders.

"It's got a nice view of Hagrid's cottage, but I can't image why she would pick this," Blaise said looking around.

"What the fuck! What the fuck!" Draco said. "That fucking bitch."

Blaise turned around and simply raised his eyebrows in confusion to Draco's swearing.

"This is the spot," Draco said pulling out his wand with revenge in his eyes, "this is the spot where that little bitch punched me in the face! Oh, I hope she will thoroughly enjoy our decorations."

Draco went to town on the decorations while muttering 'this spot' and 'little bitch'.

"Well now it's the spot that we are getting married." Blaise sighed at Draco's immaturity, "Do you have your vows ready?"

Draco shrugged, but didn't have time to reply because of the presence of Professor McGonagall. She held a large book in one hand and a black silk bag in the other.

"Gentleman I assume you are ready?" She said firmly. It was after all an assignment. After they both nodded, she handed them each a fake wand and two gold rings.

"And Miss Granger is?" said the older witch looking around.

"I'm here Professor," said a voice behind them.

They all turned around. The two wizard's jaws dropped. Madam Malkin had chosen a beautiful Vera Wang dress. It was the only wedding dress designer Hermione had ever heard of. The dress was strapless, with the fabric crossing on the bodice, and a full skirt that folded in such a unique way that it even amazed a witch like herself. If she had been a girl that thought about things like weddings, she probably would have thought it was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. Ginny had done a wonderful job on her hair and makeup. She had swept the majority of her hair in to a curly loose bun leaving two strands in the front down framing her face. The makeup was shades of light purple and was simple but elegant.

"Excellent, here is your wand for the ceremony and wedding bands," Professor McGonagall said breaking the trance the boys had towards Hermione.

Hermione walked forward and took the items. She stopped and really looked around at the directions. It looked like a cheap muggle wedding chapel in Vegas. The boulders had been outlined in flashy green and silver decorations. She simply rolled her eyes, she had expected something like this.

"Ok, so in a true Wizarding Binding Ceremony, I would start by welcoming the guests," Professor McGonagall said while opening the large book she had brought with her. "Then I would talk about the couple. Contrary to belief, three people marrying each other is rare but not unheard of. So for the assignment I've informed you that you must have vows. Draco?"

"Yea, umm," Draco said trying to throw something together, "I promise to umm, pay anything you both need paid. Umm yea..."

McGonagall sighed at Draco's lack of seriousness of the assignment she then turned, "Thank you Mr. Malfoy, you may now place the wedding bands on your partners. Hermione?"

Hermione peered down at the finger that a silver wedding band had just been placed on. She shuttered a little at the feeling of the cold metal. "Yes, I promise to be loyal, someone you can depend on when in time of need, a good listener, and a friend."

She looked up at the elder witch to indicate that she was finished. "Thank you Hermione, you may now place the wedding bands on your partners' fingers. Blaise?"

"I promise to love without reservation, honour and respect, and provide for your needs as best I can, protect you both from harm, comfort you in times of distress, grow with you both, always be open and honest, and cherish you both for as long as we both shall live," Blaise said softly. He then placed the wedding bands on Draco and Hermione. They both were looking at him confused at his beautiful speech.

"Ok now I need you to take out the wands I have provided and perform the binding spell." Professor McGonagall then began to chant the words printed in the book. The three students took their wands and in unison pulled a stream of light from their hearts, then touched the tips together. A blue light weaved through the triad.

"And so mote it be," the Professor said. "Now I have your next assignment."

She handed them a scroll, picked up her book, and walked away from the three who were still reeling from the ceremony.

They opened the scroll curious to see what could possibly be next…

Hermione's Dress- Check out my profile to see it!


End file.
